The Modern Sewing Co Potter jacket - an odyssey

I spent a LOT of time planning a Potter jacket.  I looked and pictures and reviews. I dreamed of multiple variations.  I had never made anything by the Modern Sewing Co before, but I liked the look of a few of her patterns and was deeply considering the Worker Trousers. I got excited by her own modifications of this jacket - there are posts where she lengthened it and added an A line shape to it.  Such that I finally bought it and had 2 copies printed so I could make multiple shapes. 

Somewhere in there though I read some blogs and some reddit posts speaking about the Worker Trousers, how the designer had been very defensive about some shortfalls...and I stopped trusting that this was going to be my favourite experience of all time.  I approached the pattern with some scepticism all of a sudden even though it wasn't based on any first hand evidence.  The A0 has all pattern pieces cut flat rather than on the fold so it is a VERY expensive pattern to print, I think it's 4 pages.

In the middle of that I committed to sewing it in oilskin.  I had cut the pattern out in size 10 to make sure it was just a touch roomy, and I knew it would fit on the yardage I had. And to make it even more fun, I chose silk as my lining.  AND decided to sew it while away at work, which meant taking all the supplies (thread, scissors, etc) with me to sew it at a friend's house, on her home sewing machine (50$ singer) which she had, in fact, never plugged in.  Add to this a horrible virus, fevers throughout, and my friend thought...that this was social time and stood there talking to me while I tried to concentrate.  

I had to underline all the pieces so that the oilskin wouldn't bother the silk.

I couldn't use pins, so I had to use clippies on everything. 

The welt instructions were bad.  Who does good welt instructions? I need to just buy a sewing book and reference that instead of indie pattern designers.  I had some issues with the sleeve cap fit but wasn't sure whether I had missed notches, or whether it might have been due to using clips instead of pins.    That hem corner where the hem and the lining are supposed to meet was a total shit show, as usual, but I don't think I have ever encountered a pattern that explained that process to me very well.  I also need to do a coat course and learn how to install fancy linings properly.

 

I survived the process and got over my cold and to my shock the fit of this pattern is really lovely.  I think it's a final realisation, however, that I do not like the feel of oilskin.  Maybe in a bag.  But I will stick to dry oilskin from now on.  The drafting of this seemed to be ok.  Despite my difficult fabrics, everything came together well and I think I will need to give this jacket another chance in the future, maybe with some easier materials.  This one is not likely to stick around though. 

My extra long Grainline Tamarack

I have made two previous attempts at the Tamarack jacket.  Maybe I should have just followed through on my first one so many years ago, which I wasn't going to quilt, but anyway, I really wanted to do it properly and after my second one, which was of prequilted fabric and with patch pockets, I wanted the experience of doing it all.  Having made a quilt took the fear out of a lot of things, and quilting is one of them.  

I will say: making a quilt was horrible but it has paid such dividends in new skill learning!  So worth it!  

When I finally got on the road to making this particular Tamarack, it was due to inspiration from a RTW jacket with plaid lining, maybe a year ago.  I made the black quilted Tamarack which seemed to fit ok, (I made size 4) and which I gave to a friend, and then had the confidence to trust I should quilt one for myself.  I had this fuzzy wool blend from Mood from a few years ago, and after investigating plaid linings I got this wool woven from Emma One sock last year, but then I had to wait - because I was going to use the same batting from my quilt, so I had to make it first. Hah.  (The batting wasn't enough and I still had to buy more...)

My big vision was that I needed to shorten the front and back separately so they would still meet quite high up.  I lengthened the front 2" and the back 6".  Once I had done that it was straightforward to cut everything out and quilt it and then trim everything down to shape - but it did take time!  That upleveled the feel of the jacket because quite a bit of effort goes into it.  I used a bias binding on the side seam edges and the shoulders.  It doesn't look particularly good, I'm not sure how other people kept it from being lumpy.  I overlocked most of the other seams because I didn't have enough pretty matching bias tape and it seemed kind of like a wasted effort anyway.  

My major drama was with the welt pockets.  After quilting, you've already done a lot of work and you want it to go well.  I found the instructions bad, of the vague variety, and they didn't lead to very successful welts because I didn't cut the sides down properly.  For this reason I recommend with these instructions to do a practice welt on scrap fabric so you can understand what they are saying.  It's hard to know what edges to finish, and in the end I had to hand tack the top of the pocket in place - both the top of the pocket inside the jacket, and the sides of the welt outside the pocket, where there were sad huge gaps.  The insides look ok because they hide the messier bits, but it's not a satisfying aesthetic for me.  I've now done a bunch of welt pockets this year and I think I'm starting to itch to FIGURE OUT the welt pocket so I can just do them my way and know they will satisfy me. 

Also, the fit of the body is comfortable, but the sleeves of this jacket are slim cut.  On me, it suits as a spring jacket with a tee underneath.  I would not be able to wear any more layers. The prequilted version felt very very light, and was much looser, so this is an effect of quilting.  Of course I knew that quilting would make it smaller...but it's different to actually experience that fact.  Quilting also makes it feel heavier and more substantial especially with this heavier outer fabric.

For the snaps, I considered using my prym snap kit but I'm very suspicious of the quality.  Maybe unnecessarily - I recently used it on my Landgate and the snaps were perfectly fine.  Anyway in this case I hand sewed snaps in place, and I'm really pleased with the secure feel of them.  

 

I'm really glad I made this.  Too bad I took so many attempts to get there!  It's not a pattern I found particularly fun, and the fit of it is only ok.  Now, in the meantime quilted jackets have gotten popular and I think there are other patterns that suit me more.  I will most likely try the Hovea pattern next year. 

Landgate by Merchant and Mills, a review

This was a huge effort.  I'm really glad I made the Arare jacket first, which was similar in many ways and which helped me to understand the process.  

Interestingly I had made a muslin of this a few years ago.  I noted from my muslin to either shorten it or raise the pockets by 2".  I did want the length so I opted to just raise the pockets.  Other than that, it's a size XS without changes.  I added a front pocket and was debating where it should go - above or below the drawstring? There's not really a natural place for it, which is probably why these pullover jackets either have a drawstring or they have a front kangaroo pocket! 

The instructions are oddly sparse and then even more oddly sufficient.  It's one of those patterns where you read all the instructions and half of them seem to be missing, but once you are there in that step, it's all quite clear.  I really like the way the drawstring for the hood comes out of a nice tunnel rather than out of grommets.  

I lined the back of the little zipper protector with fleece to make it cozy against a chin.

I had way too much drama with this fabric.  It's called Millerain waxed cotton (Sahara) and I got it from Guthrie and Ghani.  It's a colourway called peacock.  The peacock side feels like a heavy canvas or twill.  The other side is a bit darker in colour and feels rubbery and kind of grips to your fingers a bit.  So, which of these sides is the outside?  Overall the fabric is solid and firm and there was much wrangling of it around the sewing machine (it was heavier than my machine so it could lift up my machine when I was moving it around, annoying!)  I looked everywhere online and then kind of bowed to the name and assumed the prettier, and slippier Peacock side should be out, but that meant I had this kind of stiff, sticky side on the inside.  AND I get claustrophobic pulling things on over my head.  So after all the work to make this amazing and beautiful I really hated putting it on.  Bad decision...

I added a pocket on one sleeve and then a patch, initially on the pocket but I had not aligned it in a pretty way so I moved the patch to the other side for some character.  

Because of raising the front pockets I no longer had helpful topstitching lines to follow from the outside, and my kangaroo pocket was kind of in the way.  I topstitched the pocket top and bottom, and those side pockets are made out of wool plaid which is very nice and cozy feeling.  

Stitching down the channel for the drawstring was the hardest, and it's not really straight, though you can't tell.  Basically this jacket was a study in things not being straight or even, but I am actually super proud of the result.  Merchant and Mills manage to create beautifully finished items - whether they fit is another issue, but the quality of each thing I've made by them is undeniable.

The XS is a good size for me, the pockets being higher is comfortable - overall I worked really hard to create a jacket I would be happy to wear, but I was foiled by my fabric.  I have just discovered the wonders of oilskin and must say, this would be SO AMAZING in oilskin.  So you know.  

Waffle Patterns Arare jacket

 I am on a binge!!  

Well actually I started to feel very embarrassed that I had some patterns printed last year (the ones that had some incorrectly scaled pages in fact!) and had not used them yet.  It made me realise I should only buy and print patterns at the moment I want to make them.  It's really important in sewing to follow the crest of your enthusiasm - which was an easy thing initially and then for years I have gotten trapped in lists of things that had once peaked my enthusiasm but which no longer do.  

Anyway I got newly excited as I realised this jacket would be amazing in this polyester I recently bought.  Poly is not my thing, but flocked velvet spots on a burnt cinnamon background are my thing, so I had to compromise.  I did that by underlining the entire jacket with high quality rainwear nylon - it was one half of a nylon-jersey two face fabric but the two faces came apart in my prewash.  The underlining added a few minor complications. 

This, similar to the Azuki pants, was one day cutting and two days sewing, though there were also days in between dithering.  Jackets have an additional fear factor: the gizmos!  The drawstrings, the things that hold the drawstrings, the grommets, the zips...these are the things that, when done well, elevate the quality of the result, and when done in a make do fashion make the results seem very hand made.  

I chose size 38 and I am so grateful. The size chart might have convinced me to size down and it would have been a terrible mistake.  The 38 is very small.  I think because this is quite a narrow cut for a pullover jacket, and I somehow need heaps of room to pull things over my head in general - I absolutely get claustrophobic trying to put on narrow dresses.  So this fits but it's a tight pull on.  I would consider this a spring weather item - it's not warm, and it's not windproof but it probably provides some weather protection.

 

 The instructions are very good. I chose the welt pockets because I thought they looked nicer and they have a nicer finish, on the kangaroo pocket you end up with a kind of naked zipper under a flap that I dislike.  Of course the best ever option would be a kangaroo pocket with a handwarmer behind it...because you really need both a place to put things, and a place to warm your hands, in a pullover jacket.  

Construction with the zipper protector was very cool, but in a lightweight fabric I recommend interfacing the flap behind the zip because in my lightweight nylon it gets trapped in the zip rather than lying flat behind it.  I was able to source big grommets locally and they were easy to install.  The hood lace is a shoelace.  The wrist attachments are velcro.  And the hem lace is two pieces of elastic that are harvested from a mystery garment and saved, they just happened to barely be long enough.  I only had 2 toggles and one of them is very small but I managed to thread the two elastics through.

I was disappointed in the welt pocket instructions. I've made a few lately in a row and I have experienced really good instructions and expected these to be very good - in line with other instructions in Waffle patterns.  I haven't done enough to be able to do them without instructions, and I still need details. These instructions are horribly misleading as they don't clearly indicate the sew lines/the box of the welt pocket itself, etc.  Sometimes I think indie pattern companies try to reinvent the wheel by making New Clever ways of explaining things and the old way was totally sufficient and the new way sucks.  True here. So google other welt pocket instructions before settling into these.  

 

When putting together large pieces a few times my underlining and my outer fabric wrinkled separately, but really once you have done the pockets and the zip, everything else is just the usual putting together of big pieces.  It's such a beautiful finished garment with my underlining!!  The hood is spacious and I love the wrist adjustments.  The pockets are not super deep as they are limited by the hem of the jacket, but they are ok for handwarming.  Overall this does lack utility for me a little as there's no place to Put Stuff but I'm ok with that...I think I'll make a Landgate now.

Summary: size up a lot.  Be wary of the welts.  Enjoy!